During college he held jobs in the hospitality industry as an auditor and night manager of hotels and restaurants. After a stint in the catering department at the Indianapolis 500 race track he worked at a job opening a new luxury hotel, quite an interesting experience. At this point he realized that Hotel and Hospitality work tends to be 24/7 - 365 days a year. This prompted his entry into the Travel Agent Business. His emerging aptitude for computers made him very valuable to the new area of arranging travel. This coupled with his natural soft sales ability created opportunities to advance into Outside Sales Management positions.
At this point it was time to change his geography moving from the calm confines of Indiana to the big city of Los Angeles where he has made his home for 35+ years. He was first the Outside Sales Manager for a regional Travel Agency. About that time the industry changed drastically for travel agents with much of their work being handled by computers and the airlines and hotels themselves. So, a new career became a necessity.
He questioned himself “living in the most expensive housing market in the country (true then and true now), what should one do”? Real Estate of course! Enlisting in the local Real Estate School he studied and took the Department of Real Estate Salesperson test. A daunting task for a newby to the state and having very limited Real Estate Experience. But with lots of midnight oil he passed the test the first time.
Blair was very fortunate at this point to be taken under the wing of a mentor. A loved fixture in the home sales industry of Toluca Lake and Surrounds she was instrumental in a solid introduction into selling homes representing buyers and sellers for the Better Homes and Gardens Franchise. This small company did not hold enough promise for Blair and his mentor so they moved to RE/Max, a new real estate concept that was growing rapidly. The company catered to self-motivated agents with a strong entrepreneurial drive. This fit Blairs style wonderfully. At the time he joined the company there was 1 office with about 25 agents. Over the next 10 years the company grew to 7 offices including a strong commercial division as well as the leading residential offices with over 600 agents at the height.
Believing he should practice what he preached he purchased his own home in Sherman Oaks to cement being a member of the community. He has never regretted setting down his roots and claiming this part of the American Dream and being able to make his house his home. He still lives in that same house.
During this time Blair joined 4 other experienced agents to form a team. The idea of real estate teams was new at the time. Their combined efforts allowed them to pool resources and ideas under 1 operation. Blair focused on inside operations, managing the marketing, escrows and other processes. Doing this he was intimately involved will all transactions of the team. This was an intense training thru many transactions, up to 30 closings a month. This experience has given Blair have a huge wealth of knowledge. The team grew to 8 agents and 3 assistants over the next 7 years becoming the #1 producing group in Sherman Oaks and Studio City with a sizeable presence in the surrounding Los Angeles Neighborhoods of Toluca Lake, Valley Village, Encino, North Hollywood, Van Nuys, Tarzana and significant sales in Beverely Hills, Bel Air, Pacific Palisades etc.
After 7 years together it was time to look other pastures leaving the team to sell real estate on his own again. During this time he upgraded his Real Estate Saleperson license to that of a Real Estate Broker in 2004. This upgrade required substantial additional education and a new expanded test. Only 30% of first time test takers pass this the first time. He passed the first time.
Soon after this upgrade Blair took his new Brokers license and joined the Sothebys International Real Estate Company. The esteemed brand required Blair to reshape his business to fit in with high expectations, high profiles and higher end properties.
Soon after joining Sothebys, the 2008 financial and real estate meltdown happened. This economic catastrophy reshaped the real estate business in many ways. In response to this Blair and some of his former team mates formed a new team. This team specialized in foreclosures and short sales and other institutional sales that were the majority of the market. This approach required that they build relationships with banks and other financial operations. This required managing the properties and rehabbing the neglected and sub-par houses into marketable, liveable residences. It served as a good introduction into his future of construction.
As the market recovered Blair parlayed this experience into working with numerous flip buyers helping them to locate, analyze and plan for their eventual sale. At this point he was approached by a large investor who wanted to create a repeatable business of buying the distressed homes and rehabbing them systematically. A partnership was formed and Blair worked with the investor in all aspects of the process, eventually branching into construction management. Progressing into this business another investor enlisted Blair to manage every aspect of several flips and sales.
While still maintaining his sales business he continued to build his experience and knowledge in home construction. His projects increased in complexity and scope. He built this into about 50% of his business from construction and 50% sales.
He has managed many projects including major remodels and additions as well as building a tract of 9 homes from the ground up to final completion. His role ranges from principle owner to an owners representative to a project manager being the face and force of the General Contractor. He has been involved in just about every aspect of residential home construction. He has learned how to create basic CAD drawings and has designed building projects from conception, plans, permits, construction, completion, certificates of occupancy and actual occupancy.
He has found that doing the construction work dovetails nicely with his real estate sales. The changing face of Real Estate Sales created an opportunity for Blair to work with a boutique independent brokerage, Skymark Real Estate Group based in Beverly Hills. This allows Blair to conduct his business in the way that he thinks works best for his clients and him.
Currently Blair is focusing on building his business in the mature market, (this fits as he sometimes identifies as mature) helping his clients to downsize and transition to their Next Step of Housing. The Next Step Homes has extensive experience helping clients figure out how to navigate the empty nest, the post retirement house, the assisted living or healthcare facility. He helps work with families when the home of a generation needs to be sold. Having experienced this process with his own family and with many clients Blair is well positioned to be a wealth of knowledge and guiding force to work thru this often exciting often difficult time. He has undertaken extensive training culminating in the Accreditation of Senior Real Estate Specialist. He also recently received his education and accreditations in At Home with Diversity and as a Buyers Real Estate Specialist.
Blair has always been involved with endeavors other than his business. Most importantly being a husband for 30+ years and the always involved father of 2 wonderful now adult kids. During this time he chaired several major fundraisers to benefit Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, he was on the board and President of the School Parents Association in Sherman Oaks, and he was on the Board and President of his chosen Spiritual Center guiding it thru the very difficult Covid Epidemic.
Over the 31 years living in Sherman Oaks he has been continually involved with the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association, in particular he co-directed the committee to give community input on the redevelopment of the Sunkist Coop property into a major housing and retail hub. This required extensive work with city departments and regulatory agencies. In the end a project that both served the developers purpose and became a productive asset in the community has been built.
He is currently assisting building the 2026 Rose Parade float for the City of Burbank welding and using his knowledge of construction to create the display that will bring joy to so many on New Years Day. He thrives in giving to others, being of service and improving the community he lives in.
Blair has recently taken up the role of coffee Officianado. In his search for the best coffee he is home roasting directly sourced green raw beans. This insures the peak freshness and a much broader selection of variety. He has created the brand of Simplee Sumptuous Select Coffees and loves sharing his finished product with fellow coffee connoisseurs. He also enjoys taking his retro themed Camper to local beaches for quiet, solitude and communing with nature. He also spends much of his time caring for and remodeling his own home which he owned since 2000. He loves being hands on and creating his own finished product.
